You’re a newly appointed Head and you’re a week or two in. Does the word ‘whirlwind’ spring to mind? Over the past couple of weeks we asked our team of former Heads to cast their minds back to their first term in the job. From being the keeper of the keys, to knowing how to turn off the fire alarms, here’s a few practical pieces of advice we wanted to share…
🦺 Be 100% visible, don’t sit at your desk more than you have to, and why not be at the school gate? You can welcome pupils and get to know their families.
💡- In order to avoid people bringing problems to meetings, encourage them to bring a solution with the issues they raise.
🛁 – Have some ‘me time’ irrespective of everything else that might be going on. Block out protected time, and share your weekly schedule to staff.
🗝 – Make sure you have access to all keys. (You may have all the keys, but don’t let anyone know! Especially in a boarding school.)
⚡️- Know the whereabouts of the fuseboxes, know how to turn off the fire-alarms and water mains.
👂🏼- Listen to everyone in your school, and find someone who can listen to you, too, – a mentor or coach from outside your immediate school network.
As ever, be true to yourself – you’ve already got through a busy first few weeks, and we are here if you’d like to reach out.
